Pedroia Builds Drama, Extends Streak to 25

Throughout Dustin Pedroia’s impressive hit-streak, there have been only a few instances where it took until his final at-bat to keep it going. This afternoon, Peddy entered the 8th inning without a hit. The Red Sox trailing the Kansas City Royals by 2 runs, looking for an offensive spark. Sweet Caroline was still playing in the background, but instead of continuing to sing the beloved song at Fenway long past the music was shut off (as per the norm), the entire stadium stopped singing and began cheering for the mighty 2nd baseman. The sellout crowd knew that this would likely be Peddy’s final at-bat of the afternoon and his then 24-game hit streak was on the line. In typical fashion, Peddy worked the count full, and on the 6th consecutive fastball thrown by Greg Holland, rifled the high pitch over the green monster to extend his hitting streak in dramatic fashion and pull the Red Sox back within 1 run.

Peddy hasn’t been in this situation often during the past 3+ weeks, because he has been collecting hits like I eat pigs-in-a-blanket at cocktail parties: one after another after another. Since his streak began back on June 29th, Peddy has 13 multi-hit games, including 6 3-hit games and 1 4-hit game. He has hit .404 over that span with 27 runs, 20 RBIs, 8 HRs, 12 BBs, and just 7 Ks. Oh yeah, and he has 5 stolen bases with just 1 caught stealing, just to add icing to the top of his stat cake. He has been a complete monster in the batter’s box and continues to prove why he is one of, if not the best 2nd baseman in baseball.

What amazes me about Peddy is how he plays the game every single day, whether things are going well for him or not. He gives his full effort on every play, both offensively and defensively. He truly believes he can make any play or hit any ball, at any time. A perfect example is sharp ground ball hit in the 9th inning of this afternoon’s game, a ball that went by the diving Peddy and into right field. No human could have made a play on this ball, but Peddy got up and was upset that he didn’t make the play. The limits of the human body mean nothing to him.

The greatest thing to happen to Peddy during his baseball life was when scouts doubted his ability to play at a high level in the majors. Since that point, he has played every single day with intent on proving every single scout that said a negative thing about him wrong. The chip on his shoulder is gigantic and it is what makes him such a great competitor, continually striving for perfection.

Peddy will not reach the 56-game hit streak set by Joe DiMaggio back in 1941, but it won’t be for a lack of effort. The 56-game streak is untouchable in my eyes and in today’s baseball climate, it is even less likely, but god help the 1st person that mentions that to Peddy. He or she will be missing a hand after he bites it off. On second thought, doubt Peddy, I dare you. It will only fan the fire and make the tiny scraper more intent on proving everyone wrong (if it’s even possible to be more intent than he already is).

Streak or not, Peddy plays the game the way it is meant to be played each and every day. He comes to the ballpark looking to help his team win in any way possible and leaves the ball park with a uniform to prove that he sacrificed his body for the cause. He doesn’t need any other outside motivation to focus and play hard, because that is all he knows how to do and it is what has made him such a great player. Here’s to 25 and beyond…

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